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The new Edsel

The new Edsel

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:25 am

by gonewiththewind

I truly believe that the Hellfish will seem obsolete within a few short months. Kiting is heading in a new direction. But the story of the Hellfish will last long after the last scraps of cuben fiber go into the trash bin. And it won't be a happy story of "gee, what a great kite that was". It will be a story of Best and how they misled their customers and created a bunch of hype over a cloth version of the Edsel. How they conned people into spending the most they'd ever spend on a kite just before the next wave of kite technology came sweeping through. It will be a cautionary tale told to new kiteboarders just getting into the sport and thinking about buying the next overhyped kite. But do hang onto that Hellfish of yours. The Edsel is now a collector's item.

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:28 am

by gonewiththewind

BIOGRAPHIES OF WONDERFUL AND TERRIBLE AUTOMOBILES

THE EDSEL (1958-1959)

The Edsel stands boldly today as a perfect example of horrible timing, an almost classic flop. Although it was never the car the Ford Motor Company claimed it to be--"Looks right! Built right! Prices right!"--it was not the lemon it later became known as.

By 1954, Ford planners decided to enter the mid-priced car field, with a machine in the $2,400 to $3,600 range, above their lower-priced Fords and between their Mercurys and Lincolns. It was a sensible idea. The American economy was booming, and the automobile industry was selling nearly 7 million cars a year. Ford named its experimental concept "Edsel," or "E Car," after Henry Ford II's father. It ultimately managed to retain the original name, even after everyone from office boys to motivational analysts to hired poets had thought up over 6,000 possible names for it.

For a year prior to its introduction, no specific details about the car or clear pictures of it were released to the public. In the tons of advertisements which began flooding the country, the potential buyers saw only gauzy shadows or a fabric-covered shape, but never the car itself. All they were told was that it was something new--and from Ford! It was as if the company were trying to build some sort of secret weapon to capture the market, as the Model T had done 50 years before.

Even though it was constructed on a basic Mercury frame, the Edsel was intended to be a totally new car, but one filled with features Ford's product researchers had decided the typical 1950s buyer wanted: long, heavy, with a gull-winged tail, hundreds of pounds of chrome, push buttons and lights everywhere, and an overpowered engine. To make the car look truly different, the automatic transmission buttons (dubbed "Teletouch") were impractically mounted in a circle inside the steering wheel ring. The radiator grille, later to become infamous, was mounted vertically, with the letters E D S E L in gleaming aluminum in the middle.

Finally, 800 executives, 15,000 workers, 60 copywriters, and 1,160 brand-new dealers began pumping out advertisements and Edsels. A full month before the competition could show their new models, the first Edsels went on display.

The early introduction turned out to be but one of the many mistakes. Prices had been constantly rising during the 1950s, so the Edsel's announced coast appeared rather high to customers, since the competitors had not yet revealed their new prices. Discounted 1957 models of other cars, including Fords, seemed like a better deal. Nevertheless, a thrilled, enticed public, nursed on the teaser ads and the promise of something new, flocked to see the company's mystery car. They looked, nodded, and left--unsold.

As it turned out, the Edsels had become a victim of change. Planned during the boom years when money-laden Americans wanted their cars to resemble jet planes, they appeared just in time to bid hello to the deep recession of 1957-1958 and a general shifting of taste toward compact cars, led by a little beetle-shaped invader from Germany.

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:30 am

by panchito

Do you think Best is only Best ??? Best kiteboarding or maybe Gumball ?? owns some other kite brands out there......you will never guess which ones.....

So I think they dont need to worry about anything......

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:44 pm

by vietkiter

If you are going to bash... try not looking like a googling idiot... Google is a great company... but it ain't smart enought to think for you... that's why it called reading AND comprehension...

... For a year prior to its introduction, no specific details about the car or clear pictures of it were released to the public...

... but one filled with features Ford's product researchers had decided the typical 1950s buyer wanted: long, heavy, with a gull-winged tail, hundreds of pounds of chrome, push buttons and lights everywhere, and an overpowered engine...

... As it turned out, the Edsels had become a victim of change. Planned during the boom years when money-laden Americans wanted their cars to resemble jet planes, they appeared just in time to bid hello to the deep recession of 1957-1958 and a general shifting of taste toward compact cars, led by a little beetle-shaped invader from Germany.

But if you just google a little further... you'll discover an insignificant thing call the 64 1/2 Mustang... oops...

PS... speaking of retro Seasmik makeover... the modern Beetle looks cute and hot when it "signalled the entry into the 21st century"... but alas it was a fad... a weird spaced... girly handling... expensive piece of shit... I doubt Cabrinha would appreciate your implication...

Since you love cars examples... remember the fishnet bridle that rednecks put on the back of their trucks that supposedly improved aerodynamic efficiency, handling, etc... was cool about two seconds...

Give up the two point forecast model.

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:33 pm

by gonewiththewind

Dude, vietkiter, you're embarrassing yourself with every post. Your comprehension skills are sorely lacking. You may disagree with my comparison to the Edsel. You may think the Hellfish will be remembered as a '57 Chevy - I don't. But the connection I was trying to make is perfectly clear. You don't get it, but others will. Unlike the posts you tried to dredge up in the main forum comparing Best to other brands. Your posts usually just leave us bored and scratching our heads, like the one above.

But please, let's not digress. This is a thread about the soon-to-be collectible Hellfish.

Remember me. Remember this post. And let's talk again in a couple of years. The Hellfish will be remembered exactly as I said above.

Please post intelligently in the future. Thank you.

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 10:31 pm

by gonewiththewind

:: Vietkiter scrambles away on the keyboard quicker than his mind can keep up and comes up with the following thought::

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:55 pm

by sq225917

wow , thats almost a serious post...

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2005 7:30 am

by ASNewsForumFuzz

sq225917 wrote:wow , thats almost a serious post...

For a best basher...that is a very serious post....and to be honest. It ALMOST makes sense.

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2005 6:39 pm

by oceanplay

Gonewiththewind use earplugs to keep the matter in there you can't afford to loose any more.